Glide board

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a glide board having at least one entropy-elastic inlay arranged at any position on the glide board between its top layer and the layers thereunder. In accordance with the invention, the region of the surface beneath which the entropy-elastic inlay is disposed in raised with respect to the remaining glide board surface.

[0001] The invention relates to a glide board having at least oneentropy-elastic inlay arranged at any position on the glide boardbetween its top layer and the layers thereunder. Glide boards within themeaning of the invention can, for example, be skis or snowboards.

[0002] When skiing, for example, vibrations (waves of energy) caused bybumps in the ground over which the ski glides and absorbed by the skiare transmitted to the skier via the binding. This results, among otherthings, in great physiological strain on the skier and in a negativeeffect on skiing performance. To reduce this strain, the knocks (wavesof energy) running from the ski blade over the ski front to the skicenter should be damped in as many different frequency ranges aspossible.

[0003] It is already generally known, for example from EP 419 779 A1 toattach a plate for absorbing vibrations to the ski body, said platebeing made of a top layer with bending strength and an intermediatelayer of less bending strength underneath it. In addition, in a skialready described there, an absorber slide block made of anentropy-elastic layer is mounted near to the surface in the bindingregion in the ski body.

[0004] On the other hand, a manufacturing method for a ski is alreadydescribed in DE 39 14 189 A1, in which a so-called shell ski ismanufactured, which also has an entropy-elastic absorber layer in thebinding region below the top layer.

[0005] It is the object of the invention to further develop a glideboard such that its capability to absorb impact energy (energy waves)when skiing is improved even further.

[0006] This object is solved in accordance with the invention startingfrom a generic glide board by the characterizing features of claim 1.According to this, the region of the top layer beneath which theentropy-elastic inlay is disposed is raised with respect to theremaining glide board surface. An entropy-elastic layer is thereforeprovided here which is thick in comparison with the other layerstructure and which has a corresponding elasticity.

[0007] Preferred embodiments of the invention can be seen from thedependent claims following on from the main claim.

[0008] The entropy-elastic inlay, which acts as a friction body, canaccordingly be disposed between the upper ply and the top layer.Alternatively, however, the upper ply or the upper plies can be receivedin the regions of the entropy-elastic inlay so that the entropy-elasticinlay extends into the recessed regions of the upper ply or upper plies.

[0009] The entropy-elastic inlays can be disposed on the glide board independence on the desired absorption behavior of said board, with theentropy-elastic inlays extending, for example, from the middle of theglide board up to its tip or from the middle of the glide board up toits end.

[0010] Alternatively, the entropy-elastic inlays can be disposed withrespect to the sides in the region between the middle and the tip of theglide board and between the middle and the end of the glide board ineach case to the sides with respect to the imagined center line of theglide board. Generally, combinations of the above-mentioned arrangementsare naturally also possible.

[0011] In accordance with another preferred embodiment, theentropy-elastic inlays can be disposed both in the edge region of thesurface and in the region of the sides. In this case, the advantagearises that in addition to the vibration absorption, knocks, for examplefrom another ski or to the ski upper edge from a deflectable pole, canbe absorbed easily.

[0012] The at least one entropy-elastic inlay can advantageously havesuch a high resilience behavior that after the pressing of the glideboard into a shape with a smooth surface in those regions where it isdisposed, it results in a bulge of the surface layer beyond theotherwise smooth glide board surface. A glide board having athree-dimensional surface structure can thus be created on the basis ofthe entropy-elastic inlays.

[0013] The entropy-elastic inlays can be covered by a forced layer onone side or on both sides. Such a forced layer can consist of a thinstainless steel layer, a thin aluminum layer, a correspondingly thinpolyester film, epoxy fiberglass laminates or epoxy carbon laminates.The forced layers have such thin dimensions that the three-dimensionalbulges in the surface in the region of the entropy-elastic layers canarise themselves without any corresponding counter-pieces in the mouldcover and thus by a corresponding arching of the entropy-elastic layerafter the removal from the mould cover.

[0014] The entropy-elastic inlay can consist of natural or syntheticrubber materials. The natural rubber material can here consist ofnatural raw rubber interlaced with 1 to 10 weight percent of sulfur. Thesynthetic rubber material can consist of a co-polymer of styrene andbutadiene. The entropy-plastic inlay can consist of a foam which ismanufactured from a natural or synthetic rubber material.

[0015] In accordance with another advantageous aspect, the visco-elasticabsorption layer can also be employed from a mixed-cell polyetherurethane (PUR) such as is marketed under the trade name of “Silomerg®”.

[0016] Alternatively, the entropy-elastic inlays can consist ofthermoplastic elastomers.

[0017] Further details and advantages of the invention are explainedwith reference to the embodiments shown in the drawing, in which

[0018]FIG. 1 shows a section through an embodiment of a ski inaccordance with the invention;

[0019]FIG. 2 shows a representation in accordance with FIG. 1 of asecond embodiment in accordance with the invention;

[0020]FIG. 3 shows a schematic section through a mould and a skidisposed therein during the manufacturing process;

[0021]FIG. 4 shows a section through the ski of FIG. 3 after removalfrom the mould;

[0022]FIG. 5 and

[0023]FIG. 6 show top views of different embodiments of the ski inaccordance with the invention in which the entropy-elastic layers aredisposed at different points;

[0024]FIG. 7 shows a section through another embodiment of a ski inaccordance with the invention and an enlarged portion (FIG. 7a);

[0025]FIGS. 8 and 9 show schematic sectioned representations throughagain different embodiments of a ski in accordance with the invention(with correspondingly enlarged detail representations as FIG. 8a andFIG. 9a).

[0026] A ski 10 conventional per se is shown in section in FIG. 1. It isa so-called shell ski which covers a top layer 12 in the form of ashell. The lower side of the ski has—as usual—a glide surface 20 andsteel edges 22 attached to the respective sides. A core 18 and a upperply 14, which can also be formed with multiple layers, are disposed onthe inside. Reference can also be made to, for example DE 39 14 189 A1,for the manufacture of the conventional ski in the previously describedsections. The upper ply 14 in the embodiment such as is shown in FIG. 1consists, for example, of epoxy fiberglass, laminate or prepreg,aluminum or epoxy carbon laminate or prepreg. An entropy-plasticfriction body 16 is disposed between the upper ply 14 and the top layer12 and consists in the present embodiment of foam manufactured on thebasis of a synthetic rubber material, for example as a co-polymer madeof styrene and butadiene. The entropy-plastic inlay is disposedcentrally in the embodiment shown here and extends, as cannot be seen inmore detail in FIG. 1 in the section representation here, from the skimiddle to the ski tip, with the entropy-plastic layer 16 bulgingoutwardly. The means that the part of the top layer 12, beneath whichthe entropy-plastic layer 16 is disposed, bulges outward so that araised region projecting over the glide board surface is created.

[0027] The embodiment in accordance with FIG. 2 essentially correspondsto that of FIG. 1. Here, however the upper ply 14 is interrupted in theregion in which the entropy-plastic layer 16 is disposed so that theentropy-elastic layer 16 extends between the ski core 18 and the toplayer 12.

[0028] The special features of the manufacturing process of a ski inaccordance with the invention can be explained with reference to FIGS. 3and 4. FIG. 3 shows a cross-section through a ski 10 during its pressingbetween a top mould part 24 and a bottom mould part 26, in which anentropy-plastic inlay 16 is disposed between the top layer 12 and thecore, which is not indicated individually in FIG. 3. The upper ply 14 isinterrupted in the region of the entropy-elastic inlay 16.

[0029]FIG. 4 shows the ski manufactured by means of the moldingprocedure in accordance with FIG. 3 after the removal from the mould 24,26. Due to the resilience behavior of the entropy-elastic inlay, thesurface layer 12 is pressed outwards in the region in which the upperply 14 is interrupted so that a corresponding raised region, as shownhere, can be achieved. A more or less high elevation can thus beachieved due to the resilience behavior of the entropy-elastic inlay.The three-dimensional design of the ski surface achieved in this way canbe achieved without the mould cover of the upper part of the mould 24having to have a three-dimensional design, as was necessary inaccordance with the prior art.

[0030]FIGS. 5 and 6 show positions for entropy-elastic layers 16 on theski 10. In FIG. 5, for example, in each case an entropy-elastic inlay isdisposed at the center line of symmetry of the layer in the front partof the ski and in the rear part of the ski.

[0031] In FIG. 6, a ski 10 is again shown in which the entropy-elasticinlays 16 are attached to the sides in the region in front of and behindthe binding between the top layer and the core. In this way, anabsorption of edge impacts is also achieved in addition to the vibrationabsorption.

[0032] The entropy-elastic inlays can advantageously consist of foammaterials which are manufactured from natural or synthetic rubbermaterials. Thermoplastic elastomers can also be employed. The weight ofthe ski can be substantially reduced by the use of these lightmaterials. It was previously necessary to make use of prepregs orthermoplastic plastic inlays with correspondingly designed mould coversfor the three-dimensional design of surfaces; as a result, it wascomparatively more difficult to make a ski with a three-dimensionallydesigned surface.

[0033] A further embodiment of the ski in accordance with the inventionis shown in FIG. 17, in which the upper ply 14 is drawn down at thesides over the core 18 as a shell. The entropy-plastic or visco-elasticlayer 16 is disposed both in the edge region of the surface 13 and inthe region of the sides 10. The advantage of this embodiment can befound in that in addition to the vibration absorption, knocks on theupper ski edge such as can occur due to an edge impact from another skior a deflectable pole are absorbed substantially better than with adesign where the entropy-elastic absorption layer is only disposed atthe surface in the region of the upper edge.

[0034] Embodiments are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 in which the absorbers areexecuted as a forced-layer absorption system. A one-sided forced layeris provided in the embodiment in accordance with FIG. 8. Theentropy-elastic layer 16 is covered here with respect to the surface bya top forced layer 23.

[0035] The visco-elastic layer in the embodiment in accordance with FIG.9 is covered both at the top by the top forced layer 23 and at thebottom by a lower forced layer 24.

[0036] Layers made, for example, of stainless steel in thicknesses of0.025 mm, 0.038 mm, 0.051 mm, 0.127 mm or 0.254 mm can be used as forcedlayers. Layers made of aluminum can also be used which have a thicknessof 0.127 mm, 0.203 mm, 0.254 mm or 0.305 mm. Polyester films with athickness of 0.036 mm can also be used, as can epoxy fiberglasslaminates or epoxy carbon laminates. It is important that the resilienceforce of the visco-elastic layer is sufficient, despite the forcedlayers, to achieve the wanted three-dimensional shaping after the ski isremoved from the mould. The forced layers on the other side must beselected so thinly that the three-dimensional shaping of the surface inthe region of the visco-elastic layers can also occur with forced layerswithout any corresponding counter-pieces in the mould cover, that isafter removal from the mould.

[0037] In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, theentropy-elastic absorption layers consist of mixed-cell polyetherurethane (PUR). Such a cell polyether urethane is known under the tradename of “Silomer®”.

1. A glide board having at least one entropy-elastic inlay arranged atany position on the glide board between its top layer and the layersthereunder, characterised in that the region of the surface beneathwhich the entropy-elastic inlay is disposed is raised with respect tothe remaining glide board surface.
 2. A glide board in accordance withclaim 1 , characterised in that at least one entropy-elastic inlay isdisposed between the upper ply and the surface layer.
 3. A glide boardin accordance with claim 1 , characterised in that the upper ply or theupper plies is/are recessed in the regions of the entropy-elastic inlayand that the entropy-elastic inlay extends into the recessed regions ofthe upper ply or upper plies.
 4. A glide board in accordance with any ofclaims 1 to 3 , characterised in that the entropy-elastic inlays extend,starting from the middle of the glide board, up to its tip or from themiddle of the glide board up to its end.
 5. A glide board in accordancewith any of claims 1 to 3 , characterised in that the entropy-elasticinlays are disposed with respect to the sides in the region between themiddle and the tip of the glide board and between the middle and the endof the glide board in each case to the sides with respect to theimagined centre line of the glide board.
 6. A glide board in accordancewith claim 1 , characterised in that the entropy-elastic inlay isdisposed both in the edge region of the glide board surface and in theedge region of the sides.
 7. A glide board in accordance with any ofclaims 1 to 6 , characterised in that at least one entropy-elastic inlayhas such a high resilience behaviour that after the pressing of theglide board into a shape with a smooth surface in those regions where itis disposed, it results in a bulge of the surface layer beyond theotherwise smooth glide board surface.
 8. A glide board in accordancewith any of claims 1 to 7 , characterised in that the entropy-elasticinlays a recovered on one side or on both sides by a forced layer.
 9. Aglide board in accordance with claim 8 , characterised in that layersmade of stainless steel, aluminium, polyester film, epoxy fibreglasslaminates or epoxy carbon laminates are employed as forced layers.
 10. Aglide board in accordance with any of claims 1 to 9 , characterised inthat the at least one entropy-elastic inlay consists of natural orsynthetic rubber materials.
 11. A glide board in accordance with claim10 , characterised in that the natural rubber material for themanufacture of the entropy-elastic inlay consists of natural raw rubberinterlaced with 1 to 10 weight percent of sulphur.
 12. A glide board inaccordance with claim 10 , characterised in that the synthetic rubbermaterial serving the manufacture of the entropy-elastic inlay consistsof a co-polymer made of styrene and butadiene.
 13. A glide board inaccordance with claim 10 , characterised in that the entropy-elasticinlay consists of foam manufactured from natural or synthetic rubbermaterials.
 14. A glide board in accordance with claim 10 , characterisedin that at least one entropy-elastic inlay consists of thermoplasticelastomers (TPE).
 15. A glide board in accordance with claim 10 ,characterised in that the entropy-elastic inlay consists of cellpolyether urethane (PUR).